ALL EXAM QUIZ 20.04.2024

Explanation:

• Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah appointed as the new Prime Minister of Kuwait by the Emir of Kuwait.
• The appointment came after the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on April 7.
• Following the election of a new parliament on 4 April, Sheikh Mohammed submitted the resignation of his cabinet on 6 April.
• His resignation was a procedural step after the new parliament was elected.
• The new Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed is a Kuwaiti economist and served as Minister of Health, Minister of Oil, and Minister of Information from 2006 to 2011.
• He also served as the Minister of Finance and Communications from 1999 to 2005.
• Its capital is Kuwait City and its currency is Kuwaiti Dinar.

Explanation:

• In March, India's goods trade deficit narrowed to an 11-month low of $15.6 billion.
• An official data on April 15 showed that India's goods trade deficit in March narrowed by nearly 17% from the previous month as imports fell sharply while exports rose marginally.
• According to Commerce Ministry data, the deficit declined to $15.6 billion in March, from $18.71 billion in February and $16.02 billion in January.
• This is the lowest in the last 11 months, with the last time the deficit was this low in April 2023 when it came in at $14.44 billion.
• The March figure was much higher than economists' estimate of a deficit of $18.55 billion.

Explanation:

• Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong will step down and hand over power to Lawrence Wong.
• After two decades, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will step down from his post on May 15. Lawrence Wong will take oath as the next Prime Minister.
• Lawrence Wong is currently serving as deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.
• He has been a potential candidate for the Prime Minister post since 2002.
• Wong was designated as the PM-in-waiting in April 2022 after a rare disruption in the leadership transition process.
• Wong is also deputy chairman of sovereign wealth fund GIC and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Southeast Asian nation's central bank.
• He led the education and national development ministries before becoming finance minister in 2021.

Explanation:

• India's growth forecast for 2024 was increased by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 6.5% to 6.8%.
• India continued to be the emerging market and developing economy with the fastest rate of growth.
• The IMF projected India's growth rate to be 6.5% for 2025.
• Its growth expectations were supported by strong and stable domestic demand as well as an increasing number of people in working age.
• According to the IMF's most recent World Economic Outlook report, during the medium term, approximately two out of every three new workers worldwide would come from sub-Saharan Africa and India.

Explanation:

• India and Mauritius have signed a protocol to amend tax treaty.
• Both nations signed the new protocol on Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) on 7th March 2024.
• This has closed lacuna in their Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
• This has tightened the scrutiny on tax avoidance on investments coming into India.
• The amendment includes a Principal Purpose Test (PPT).
• PPT is to decide whether a foreign investor is actually eligible for treaty benefits.
• PPT is also to decide if the tax benefit the primary reason to route investments via Mauritius.
• Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) is a bilateral agreement.
• It is aimed at preventing double taxation of income earned in one country by residents of the other country.

Explanation:

• Central government formed a panel on the issues of queer community.
• Government notified a committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary “to examine the various issues relating to queer community.
• The committee has been formed after the Supreme Court asked the central government in October to set up a high-powered panel to look into the issues of the queer community.
• The six member committee will comprise secretaries from the Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Women and Child Development; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Law Ministry.

Explanation:

• Nalin Negi has been appointed as full-time CEO of BharatPe.
• Fintech firm BharatPe has named its interim CEO and chief financial officer Nalin Negi as full-time chief executive officer.
• Nalin Negi became the interim CEO in January 2023 after then-CEO Suhail Sameer resigned from the post.
• Negi joined BharatPe in 2022 and has experience building and scaling businesses in the fintech and banking domains.
• Under Negi's leadership, BharatPe recorded an 182 per cent increase in revenue from operations in FY'23.
• BharatPe was co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani in 2018.

Explanation:

• Astronomers have detected the largest stellar black hole in the Milky Way galaxy.
• This stellar black hole mass is 33 times that of the Sun. It is also the second closest black hole to Earth. It is just 2,000 light years away from the earth.
• The discovery was made when researchers were analysing data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission.
• So far, around 50 stellar-mass black holes in the Milky Way have been identified.
• The newly discovered stellar black hole has been named “Gaia BH3”. It is a most massive black hole of stellar origin in the Milky Way.
• When a star with more than eight times the Sun’s mass runs out of fuel, it explodes as a supernova and its core collapses to form a stellar black hole.
• Apart from stellar black holes, the Milky Way galaxy has a supermassive black hole.
• The supermassive black hole in the Milky Way is about 4 million times the mass of the Sun and is 26,000 light years away.
• Scientists are also searching for intermediate black holes, which are tens of thousands of times the Sun’s mass.

Explanation:

• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has increased its equity stake in Hindustan Unilever.
• LIC’s stake in Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has crossed 5 per cent.
• LIC has increased its shareholding in HUL from 4.99% to 5.01% of the paid-up capital of the company.
• LIC acquired additional shares on 12 April at an average cost of Rs 2,248.59 per unit.
• Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is a subsidiary of the British company Unilever.
• It was established in 1931 as Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co.
• It is headquartered in Mumbai. It is a consumer goods company.
• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) was formed in September 1956. It is headquartered in Mumbai. Its slogan is yogakshemam vahamyaham.

Explanation:

• 'World Heritage Day' is celebrated every year on 18 April to honor and protect cultural heritage.
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) declared this day in 1982. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved this day in the year 1983.

• The theme of World Heritage Day this year is 'Discover and Experience Diversity'.